Silence is Not Asian with the Chang Family
by danielsamuels128
Summary: Another newbie in Great Lakes City. This newbie, Hoa Li, is Asian like Sid Chang. What happens when Sid learns about Hoa's social anxiety disorder? This will start as rated K . May or may not switch to T later in the story because some content "might" not be suitable for anyone under the age of 10.
1. Chapter 1- Prologue

Do you know anyone in your family that's of Asian heritage or background? Do you have a friend who is like that? Whether or not you answered yes to either of the 2 questions, are there Asian people in the community you live in? In Great Lakes City, the answer is yes. Whether or not you would answer yes, Asian people are all over the world. However, not that many people wanna take kind to what they are like. Some people just choose not to stop making fun of them. What happens when a new kid arrives in Great Lakes City and is made fun of on her first day at school? Hope you enjoy finding out.


	2. Chapter 2- Meet the New Kid

It all starts one Monday morning in Great Lakes City.

One kid who's 11 years old was waking up. Her name was Hoa Li.

Her home is on West 79th Street, which is within 2 blocks from the GLART, a train another familiar Asian girl and her friend take to school. After Hoa Li finished washing up, she was putting her clothes on.

Her room was painted yellow and orange. Hao's clothes were the same 2 colors. The second she got her clothes on, she went downstairs for a bit of breakfast.

Her 2 moms, Hong and Hao Li, were waiting for her. There was french toast with fruit punch ready to eat. Hoa entered the dining room.

"Morning moms," Hoa said to them.

"Morning sugar," Hong said to her.

"Ready for breakfast?" Hao asked.

"Sure," Hoa said to her 2 moms.

She sat down and began eating.

"Is something wrong, Hoa?" Hao asked.

"Why wouldn't there be anything wrong?" Hoa asked back.

Hong then answered, "because when you came down here, you didn't seem as excited. Plus, when you said you wanted breakfast, you kind of looked a little nervous."

"Because I am nervous," Hoa replied to her 2 moms.

She told them that ever since she was first diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, it's been hard for her to speak up in front of other people.

"I just get so anxious, I don't know what to do next. It's just so embarrassing."

Hoa's two moms hugged her to let her know it was going to be okay.

Before she could even think about stepping out of her house, she went back upstairs to make sure she had everything she needed for her first day of school.

"Notebooks? Check. Case full of pencils? Check. My backpack? Check. Knitting kit? Check."

She then said to the viewers, "I knit my own scarves and sweaters. It's a coping strategy I use when my Social Anxiety Disorder gets loose. I just love it."

She then went back to her checklist.

"Clothes? Check. Scarf? Check."

Hoa needed a bit more confidence before she could step outside, so she turned on a little Teen Pop music.

While dancing to the music, she said to the viewers, "who doesn't like this type of music?"

Hoa could feel the energy running right through her.

Hoa was gaining some strength and courage for her first day.

Here's the question that remains.

Will it be enough?

Around 7:27, Hoa stepped out of the house so she could start making her way to school.

"Have fun at school," Hong Li said to her.

"I'll try," Hoa said back to her 2 moms.

She was still a little nervous. She started making her way to the GLART train.

Hoa was starting school at Cesar Chavez Academy. Hoa knew it was going to be tough because she's the new kid on the block. However, I, the author of this story think it's normal to go through situations like this when you're a new student. What do you think?

As soon as she arrived on the platform, she thought to herself, "Great Lakes Area Rapid Transit. I might like this type of train if it'll get me to school on time. I wonder where I will go from here at 79th street?"

It was only 5 minutes later when the GLART Train arrived. She hopped on and tried to find a seat.

The train was a little packed as there were barely any seats. She started noticing her heart beating faster and sweat coming down her face. She wiped the sweat off before it got in her eyes.

"Cousin Hoa?" she winced. "Who could that be?" she thought.

Hoa turned to see her cousin, Hee-Young.

"Hey cousin," Hoa said to her.

The 2 ladies hugged it out.

"What brings you out here?" Hee-Young asked.

Hoa answered, "I'm trying to find my way to school. It's my first day in Great Lakes City."

Hee-Young said to Hoa, "here's a map of the city. Maybe this can help."

Hoa thanked Hee-Young by hugging her.

The moment she arrived at Cesar Chavez Academy, she went inside to find an empty locker.

While putting her jacket and scarf inside, 2 background students came over.

One of them asked, "is that your scarf?"

Hoa, while unleashing a big amount of blush, answered "yeah. Wanna feel it?"

The 2 students laughed.

"Orange?" one of them asked. "Are you nuts?"

The other one said to her, "If you ask us, orange is a stupid color. Next time, bring a color other than orange you nutty kid."

The 2 students walked off laughing.

Hoa was starting to lose control of her heartbeat and sweat. She knew it was going to be tough, but took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"It's just the first day," she said to herself. "You're in control."

She then walked off to homeroom, the first class of the day.


	3. Chapter 3- At Cesar Chavez Academy

During homeroom period, Hoa found an empty seat next to the other familiar Asian face I mentioned earlier. Before Hoa could try to say anything, one of the school teachers came in.

"Morning students," the teacher said.

The students greeted that teacher back. Hoa just gave a friendly wave.

"Hmm," the teacher thought. "I knew it. Another new student has decided to join us. Little girl, with a please, come on up and tell us a little about yourself."

Hoa was getting nervous again. She didn't want to embarrass herself.

When she got up to the front, she said, "hi. I'm Hoa. My 2 moms and I moved out here to be closer to my cousin. Her name's Hee-Young. She told me it's her 2nd year in college. I don't know what else to say. I'm super nervous."

"That's alright, Hoa" the teacher said. "Thanks for sharing."

As Hoa returned to her seat, the teacher said "okay, I need to take a quick bathroom break. Everyone please stay in the room until the bell, or when I return and don't be too loud."

The teacher then strolled to the bathroom.

The familiar face I'm still talking about turned to Hoa.

"You're an Asian girl too?" she asked.

"Technically Vietnamese," Hoa answered. "But yeah. I'm Hoa Li."

"I'm Sid Chang," she said.

"Nice to meet you, Sid" Hoa responded while shaking hands with her. "Wow," she thought. "Not even a whole period and finally someone I can relate to."

She thought maybe this day could turn around. It did for a little while.

During 3rd period, Hoa and Sid were in the knitting club.

"You did knitting before?" Sid asked.

"It's a coping strategy I use when I need to calm down," Hoa answered. "I even knitted my own scarf. Maybe one day, we can knit matching t-shirts that we can wear together."

"That would be cool," Sid commented.

That was when the two kids from earlier showed up.

One of them asked, "made a new friend, huh?"

"Yeah," Hoa answered.

The other of the 2 asked, "you gonna give away your nutty orange sweater to her?" before laughing.

Hoa, losing control of her heartbeat again said, "Sid, meet me in the bathroom."

She took off while starting to sweat again.

Before Sid could go meet up with her, she said to the 2 kids, "you think this is funny? You 2 know better than to pick on another kid like that. This thing between the 3 of us is just beginning."

She then walked off to catch up with Hoa.

One of the 2 kids said back, "we already know this isn't over."

"Yeah," the other one said. "This isn't over."

Over at the girls' bathroom, Sid found Hoa in one of the corners trying to control her heartbeat. She asked if Hoa was okay.

Hoa needed a moment to calm her rapid heartbeat.

When she did, she told Sid, "I'm fine. It's just my social anxiety disorder."

"What's that?" Sid asked.

Hoa answered "a common type of anxiety disorder. A person with social anxiety disorder feels symptoms of anxiety or fear in certain or all social situations, such as meeting new people, dating, being on a job interview, answering a question in class, or having to talk to a cashier in a store. Doing everyday things in front of people—such as eating or drinking in front of others or using a public restroom—also causes anxiety or fear. The person is afraid that he or she will be humiliated, judged, and rejected."

Here are examples of symptoms that go along with it.

· Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself

Intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers

· Avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment

· Enduring a social situation with intense fear or anxiety

Blushing

Fast heartbeat

· Upset stomach or nausea

· Feeling that your mind has gone blank

"I see," Sid said. "Sorry this is why you have trouble speaking up."

Hoa gave Sid a hug to let her know it was okay.

"I wish I wasn't stuck with this disorder," she said. "When I grow up, I wish to be a fashionista. I'll make my own skirts and sneakers that symbolize friendship and diversity."

Sid thought that would be so cool.

Later on, the kids were given a break for recess. Sid was looking for Hoa. She was starting to feel a little anxious herself. She did, however, run into her best friend Ronnie Anne.

"Hey Sid," Ronnie said.

"What up Ronnie Anne?" Sid asked.

Ronnie answered, "I was wondering what happened to you. You didn't show up to the club we started."

"Sorry," Sid commented. "I was busy with my new friend. She's kind of quiet."

Ronnie asked, "you mean that one other there with the nutty scarf?"

The 2 girls spotted Hoa.

"Yeah," Sid said. "But don't say the scarf is ugly again. It's why she ran off in the first place."

The 2 girls walked up to her. After saying hi to one another, Sid introduced Ronnie Anne to Hoa. Hoa waved hello.

"Wow," Ronnie Anne said. "She really is a quiet one. What have the 2 of you been doing?"

"I went to visit the knitting club," Sid answered.

Hoa told Ronnie, "knitting's one of the coping methods I use. When I'm alone, I sometimes turn on a little music."

She found her cell phone and turned on "Likey" by Twice.

"Woah," Sid said. "You're into K-pop too?"

"Pop music's my favorite," Hoa said.

The 3 girls were really enjoying themselves. However, it wouldn't be long before recess would come to a close for the day.


	4. Chapter 4- At Hoa's House

Later on, the final bell rang, which meant school was dismissed for the day.

"You sure you don't wanna come meet Hoa's parents?" Sid asked.

Hoa commented, "actually, I have 2 moms."

Ronnie Anne then said, "I'm sure. I don't want my family to get worried so much they'll have to spy on what I'm doing again."

"We understand," Sid said. "See you tomorrow?"

"You bet," Ronnie Anne said. "I'd shake Hoa's hand, but I forgot about her social anxiety disorder."

She then walked off.

"So," Sid said to Hoa. "Where's your house at?"

Hoa answered, "we take the train to 79th Street and my house is 2 blocks over."

"Cool," Sid said.

When they arrived at Hoa's house, Hoa knocked on the door. Her 2 moms, Hong and Hao Li, opened the door.

"Hi Hoa," Hao said.

"Hey moms," Hoa said. "This is Sid Chang. She goes to school with me. Sid, these are my two moms."

"Come on in," Hong said. "Make yourself at home, Sid."

Sid could not believe the warm hospitality Hoa's mothers are giving. It was just beautiful.

"This is a cool house," Sid said.

"You wanna see our daughter's room?" Hao asked.

"That would be so cool," Sid said.

With that, Hoa took Sid up to her room. Up there, Sid could not believe what she stepped into.

"Oh my god," she said.

Hoa's room was, well, bare.

Aside from the basic necessities a room like that would have, Hoa also has her knitting supplies, and a computer that only has access to the internet and some music.

"This is a cool room," Sid said to her.

"Thanks," Hoa said. "I just love it. The walls are yellow and orange to connect to my heritage. Pretty cool, right?"

"So cool," Sid commented.

Hoa then said to her, "that reminds me. We should be getting started with our homework for tomorrow."

"Totally," Sid said.

During their homework time, one of the problems they had involved algebra.

"Alright" Sid said. "7x+15=85."

Hoa asked, "so we start by taking 15 from 85?"

"Si amiga," Sid said.

"Woah," Hoa said. "Where'd you learn to say that?"

Sid answered, "my friend, Ronnie Anne, has a whole family that speaks spanish."

Hoa commented, "cool. My family grew up speaking chinese. Maybe one day we can teach each other how to speak those two languages."

"That's great. Ronnie Anne's family can help your family learn spanish, and your family can help then learn chinese."

Hoa then commented, "wonderful," in chinese.

"I'm gonna need a lot of practice though," Sid said.

"I can tell," Hoa said. "I just wish my social anxiety disorder was gone. Then, I'd be able to stand up to those 2 who teased me about my scarf."

Sid suggested, "we'll tell your 2 moms later. Anyway, after taking 15 from 85, we have 70?"

"Hoa then used chinese to tell Sid, "yes. You're good."

Sid then used spanish to say, "Thanks. I know."

These 2 were really enjoying their time together.

Meanwhile, Ronnie Anne was in the room behind the laundry room in the Casagrandes' apartment building.

Sid's mom, Becca Chang, came in.

"Hey Ronnie," she said.

"Hey Mrs. Chang," Ronnie said back. "What's up?"

"Do you know what happened to Sid?" Becca asked. "She's usually home from school by now."

Ronnie Anne answered, "oh, we nearly forgot about you and Sid's dad. There's this new kid at school who's becoming great friends with Sid. Her name's Hoa. Sid's probably at her house. Let me call her."

As if on cue, Sid picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Ronnie Anne asked.

During the phone chat, Ronnie asked for the location of Hoa's home.

Hoa answered, "take the train to 79th Street, head 2 blocks to the west, 4th house on your right."

"Thanks," Ronnie Anne said.

"Newbies in our community, I assume?" Becca asked.

"Yeah," Ronnie Anne answered. "You know, those 2 are gonna need help. 2 kids at school bullied Hoa for her scarf, and I'm worried they'll bully Sid too."

"Not on my watch," Becca said. "Can you please tell me the way to her house again?"

Ronnie Anne looked at the viewers with an 'ugh' look.

Becca looked at the viewers too.

"What?" she asked them.

Once Becca and Ronnie Anne arrived at Hoa's house, they knocked on the door.

One of Hoa's moms opened it.

"Hi," she said. "You must be Sid's mom."

Becca told her, "yes. This is Sid's friend, Ronnie Anne Santiago."

The mom that opened the door told them, "I'm Hao. Sid and Hoa are upstairs. One second."

She then called out, "hey Sid! Your momma's here to pick you up. Something about you forgetting to call her I'm theorizing?"

Hoa then said to Sid, "go ahead. We can continue another time."

Downstairs, Hoa asked Sid, "so this is your mom?"

Sid's mom answered, "yep. Becca Chang. Nice to meet you."

Sid then said to her mom, "careful. Hoa has Social Anxiety Disorder."

Ronnie Anne then asked Hoa, "that's why you had trouble standing up to the 2 kids who teased you for the scarf you brought with ya? The reason why you ran off in the first place?"

Hoa nodded while trying to control her sweat.

Hoa's other mom, Hong Li, came in.

"I heard noise," she said. "What's going on?"

Hao answered, "first, this is Sid Chang, her mom, Becca and her friend, Ronnie Anne."

"Nice to meet you," Hong said. "What's this about running off?"

Sid answered, "Hoa got teased for her scarf, so she dashed off to the girls' bathroom to calm down. What are we gonna do?"

Hong answered, "we'll talk to Hoa about it."

Hoa used spanish to thank her mom.

Sid then said, "yes. Thanks," in Chinese.

She then told the others, "I'm helping Hoa learn spanish, while Hoa's helping me learn chinese."

"Did you listen to one of my podcasts?" Ronnie Anne asked.

Sid answered, "yeah, but like half the country watched it too."

"I thought so," Ronnie Anne said.

They all said goodbye before Ronnie Anne, Sid and Becca took off back to their own home.


	5. Chapter 5- Nightmares

Later that evening, Hao was in her bed sleeping. However, it was rough.

She thought she was dreaming about herself having enough courage to stand up to the ones who have been messing with her earlier at school.

The second she walked up to them, she said, "excuse me. Are you 2 out of your mind?"

One of the 2 kids asked Hao, "why would we be out of our minds?"

Hao answered, "the way you two made fun of my scarf was not cool".

The other of the 2 grabbed it and asked, "you mean this scarf?"

"Give it back", Hao said.

The 2 kids who were bullying her started a game of keep away.

Sid Chang came over and asked, "what gives here?"

"Keep away," the 2 kids answered.

Sid joined along with Ronnie Anne.

"What happened to you standing up for me?" Hao asked Sid.

Sid responded, "and end this silly game of keep away? No thanks."

"But that's my scarf," Hao said.

"It's stupid," Sid commented.

Hao then said, "come on Sid; give it back."

Sid then pushed Hao down to the side.

Hao then got up.

Not knowing that she was still sleeping, she slammed the bed while saying, "give it! Give it back! Give it back!"

She then hit the railing causing her to wake up.

"What happened?" Hong asked as she came into the room.

Hao answered, "nightmare on 79th street. This bullying's never gonna stop."

Hong hugged Hao to let her know everything will be alright.

Meanwhile, over at the Casagrandes' apartment building, Sid Chang was having trouble falling asleep herself.

Enter Sid's dream.

Sid was outside dancing with Hao to some fun kpop music.

"This is the best music I have ever danced to," Sid said.

"You got that right," Hao commented.

Then, the 2 kids who were bullying Hao came over.

"Hey," they said.

"What is it you two want now?" Sid asked.

One of the 2 kids responded, "I see you found a dancing partner. Too bad your dancing stinks as much as your music."

The other one added, "yeah. You 2 are gonna enter a contest? If so, you losers would be kicked out in the first round."

They busted out laughing, which made Hao run off again.

Sid pictured herself in a dance contest.

When she finished her dance, she felt so proud.

However, one of the judges then said "I like your moves. However, this is not a kpop dance contest Sid Chang. We're sorry, but we're gonna have to eliminate you."

Sid Chang got sent off the stage in embarrassment and deep sadness.

On the other hand, the embarrassment and deep sadness did not last long as she began to wake up seconds later.

Exit Sid's dream.

"Knock it off," she said. "Aw man. Hao was right. This bullying is going to get worse before it gets better."

Sid sighed in utter sadness.

She then thought to herself, "there's no one in the room behind the laundry room. Maybe, I can have a better chance of sleeping in there."

She quietly snuck downstairs to that room.

However, once she got down there, she was in for a surprise.

In that room, she bumped into Ronnie Anne, making both of them get shocked.

"Sid?" Ronnie Anne responded.

"Ronnie Anne?" Sid responded.

"You can't get to sleep?" the two girls asked each other.

"No," they answered to one another. "I can't get to sleep either. I had a crazy nightmare. You sure? I'm positive mine's crazier."

"What was your nightmare about?" Ronnie asked.

Sid answered, "Those 2 kids teased me for the way I be dancing and made me think I can never win a dance contest. It was just horrible to take in. What about you?"

Ronnie Anne answered, "It was during recess at school".

Enter Flashback.

"We were playing with this really fun soccer ball. You, me and Hao were having fun when those 2 kids came over."

"What did they do?" Sid asked.

Ronnie answered, "they used a knife to cut a whole in our ball. Hao couldn't take being bullied anymore."

Sid then asked what Hao did.

Ronnie answered, "she took the knife out of the hands of those 2 and used it to cut herself to death. All that blood came running out of her. Just the fact that she did it alone was so stressful, I was the one hiding behind you."

Exit flashback.

Sid gave Ronnie Anne a hug.

"That's so sad," Sid commented.

"Maybe," Ronnie Anne said. "But most nightmares tend to end in that type of category if you know what I mean."

"I do," Sid replied. "But how will we get to sleep now?"

"I don't know," Ronnie said.

"Were you able to tell your mom yet?" Sid asked.

"As much as I want to" Ronnie Anne started answering. "I just don't want our parents making this worse than it already is."

"Making what worse?" they winced.

Ronnie and Sid turned to see who was entering their special room, and wasn't too surprised to find out it was Ronnie Anne's mom, Maria Santiago.

"What are you doing down here?" Ronnie asked.

"Wondering what the 2 of you are doing down here," Maria answered.

Ronnie answered, "there's a new kid in school named Hao who keeps getting bullied."

Sid added, "she has social anxiety disorder, so she fears speaking up in public. Ronnie Anne and I tried to help, but that just gave the 2 of us post traumatic nightmares if you know what I mean."

Ronnie then said, "Sid asked if I told any adults yet. I wanted to, but I don't want adults like you making things worse."

Maria then commented, "I see." She then kneel down.

Afterwards, she told the two girls, "you should be glad you told me. Luckily for you, I scheduled tomorrow off. Maybe, I can come to your school and help get to the bottom of this bullying."

Both Ronnie Anne and Sid thanked Maria by hugging her.


	6. Chapter 6- Let's End This

The next day, Ronnie Anne and Sid were soon to attend lunch again.

"Hey," Ronnie Anne said. "Have you seen Hao?" We really need to talk to her. I'm really getting worried about her getting teased again."

"Me too," Sid commented. "Maybe she'll be waiting for us in the cafeteria. You know, so the 3 of us can have lunch together?"

"Maybe," Ronnie Anne said.

That was when Becky came over with Ronnie Anne's mom, Maria Santiago and Sid's mom, Becca Chang.

Becky said to them, "my locker is just a few more feet away. Oh look, it's Ronnie Anne Santiago and Sid Chang. This is one fine surprise."

After saying hi to each other, Sid asked, "what are our moms doing here?"

Maria answered, "well, normally, we wouldn't even think about coming here, but since we were given the day off".

Becca added, "we thought we come here to help put an end to this bullying, but that was when we ran into Becky."

That was when Casey, Sameer and Nikki came over.

After saying hi to one another, Casey asked, "did you find them yet?"

"Find who?" Sid asked.

Becca answered, "your friends told us 2 of your classmates started a new trend. Every time you see something that's the color, orange, you laugh at it."

Becky then commented, "I told those 2 not to do it because someone's feelings might get hurt. As a result, I asked one of the teachers if the school can call up some extra adult help in catching the 2 kids responsible. That's why 2 of your mothers are here, but we haven't found them yet."

Becca suggested, "we better go see the school principal about this."

"I agree," Nikki said. "If we're gonna catch the 2 responsible, we're gonna need all the support we can get."

Sid then said, "before we go, have any of you seen Hao? Ronnie and I think she disappeared because of her Social Anxiety Disorder again."

Casey answered, "I last saw her sneaking into the girls' bathroom."

Maria suggested, "let's go get Hao and then we can report this to the principal."

Everyone was on board with that plan. Over in the principal's office, they told the principal everything.

The principal then said, "I see. Well, thanks to Becky and Casey, one of the 2 is already in here."

"Artemis?" Sid asked.

"Yeah," He answered. "There's one more supposed to be on the way here. We thought it would be a fun trend to try out."

Maria then came in and said, "I found the other one responsible."

Artemis then said, "listen. We had no idea anyone's feelings would get hurt as a result of this."

Becky commented, "and that's why I told the 2 of you not to create that trend in the first place."

Becca then said, "I think I speak for all of us when it comes to saying an apology is expected to come out of you right now."

The 2 kids, one of them being Artemis, apologized for everything. Hao said it was okay.

The principal suggested to leave everyone off with a warning. Becca and Maria agreed to it.

"See ya when you return home," they said.

The others waved goodbye.

After school, Ronnie Anne, Sid, Hao, Becky, Casey, Sameer and Nikki all met up with one another.

"I'm so glad that's over," Casey said to the others.

"Me too," Hao said. "I just feel sorry my social anxiety disorder had to complicate things."

"Hey," Sameer said. "It just takes time. Aren't these types of things treatable in any way?"

"They are," Sid said. "You know, this school could really use a counselor for dark times like this."

"Maybe one day, "Nikki said.

"Maybe," Hao commented. "Until then, you wanna come check out my house?"

The others were so up for it.

Becky then said, "then we better get going. The train's gonna come soon."

"So," Sid started. "You guys wanna just walk out or find a creative way to exit?"

They all said at one, "let's boogie on out."

They all started grooving their way out of the school.

While waiting for the GLART train, Nikki asked Hao, "so Hao, you gonna like it at our school?"

Hao answered, "it's gonna take some getting used to, but with friends like you guys, I think I'll be alright."

They all hugged it out.

Once the train arrived, they hopped on board. To their surprise, just as the train pulled off, a dance party switched on.

Hao asked, "a pop up dance party?"

"Why not," Ronnie Anne commented. "A job well done deserves a well done celebration. Let's groove it."

The kids knew they were having fun. Hao was really enjoying her new friends.

How long do you think it'll be before their school gets a new counselor? For me, hopefully not too long. What about you?

The end.

Author's Note: I'm currently working on a new novel. I'm not sure whether or not to call it, "You and Your Mental Health Are Not Alone." It's basically about how there will always be support for kids between the ages of 10 and 17 with mental health issues. This fic I made is going to be one of the stories because it's several different stories that'll join as one book. I'm really hoping lots of people see it because more people are becoming mentally disabled and not finding support when they should. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfic and keep tuning in for more in the coming future.


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